


Tea to Coffee

by unicornieboo



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Coffee, Coffee Shops, F/M, OC, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Own Character, Rose - Freeform, Roses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28976886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unicornieboo/pseuds/unicornieboo
Summary: Orion had always been a tea person. He preferred the calming, soothing smell of tea, brewed simply and efficiently for the little time he has. The man is always busy, of course. So he makes use of his time, careful not to waste a second.
Relationships: own character - Relationship
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Tea to Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first ever fanfiction I am going to post here, I hope you enjoy!! This was just a little coffee shop au I wrote using me and my friend's character!

Orion had always been a tea person. He preferred the calming, soothing smell of tea, brewed simply and efficiently for the little time he has. The man is always busy, of course. So he makes use of his time, careful not to waste a second.

—————— 

One little morning, Orion carried his laptop and his favorite folder tight to his chest, stomping down the streets as he aggressively cursed underneath his breath. All black he wore, as if he had just attended a funeral; It made him look intimidating.

Angry? Frustrated? No. Words could not describe the fury that he was feeling that morning. Rats had apparently broken the wires of his alarm clock, causing him to wake up later than intended. He had a meeting scheduled this morning and his car's empty gas tank was not helping his mood. Despite being known as the man prepared for anything, he was nowhere near prepared for what was happening today. He was fuming. One thing that could calm his anger down, one notch at least, was a cup of earl grey tea. 

Luckily for him, the street he was walking on was known for its cafes. Cafes on every building filled the streets, the perfect place for office workers like Orion's kind. 

Not glancing at the store he was entering, he pushed the glass door open and caught himself in a surprise when the smell of coffee and roses hit his nostrils. It was a weird mix of scent but they flowed smoothly together.

"New store," He thought immediately. He wasn't the type to try new stores, past experiences with bad coffee resonated with him. He was about to turn to his heel when he saw the expression of the girl on the counter. He found her unique, her hair long and blue like the sky. Eager were their expression, excited to see a customer finally enter their café. His eyes shifted around the café to find no one in any of the seats. He felt a hint of guilt rush through him. If he was to turn around now, he was sure the girl would be crushed. He sighed quietly to himself, walking to the counter with a forced look. 

"Hello!" The girl chirped excitedly. However, she quickly picked up on the grim look he wore on his face and lowered her voice. Orion noticed how quick her face shifted and immediately gave a lenient smile. "Hello," He replied, voice hoarse and annoyed still from the horrible start of his morning. He did his best to avoid the small talk and wanted so badly to leave the café. 

"I'm sorry if I was a bit too excited. It's just, we haven't had a customer in a while." She smiled warmly, her hands handing him a laminated plate of their best beverages. He felt her genuineness, his guilt growing deeper. Inside, he wanted nothing more than to leave the stupid café. 

He looked at the drinks on the laminated plate and furrowed his brows. No tea. His eyes darted up to the menu plastered on a standee beside the counter and still found no tea. 'What kind of café is this?' he thought, his mood growing frustrated once more.

"What's wrong?" The girl asked, watching his head scan the menu beside the counter as if looking for something. "Is there a specific beverage you want? I'll make it for you!" She beamed at him. He could feel her smile radiating from where he stood and it only annoyed him more. Despite this, he felt as though he didn't want to offend the petite girl. Sighing once more, he returned the laminated plate back to her hands and turned to leave. 

Before her smile could turn to a big frown, his eyes darted back to her, "Just give me anything you think I'll like. I want it ready to be taken out" He said, coming off authoritative but he couldn't care less at that moment. 

The girl nodded with a huge grin plastered on her face, even saluting to his request. Orion went to the farthest seat, by the window, to not be disturbed. He placed his folder and laptop on the circular wooden table and propped himself on the comfortable seat to cool off. 

There, he waited. 

Ten minutes had passed...

Twenty minutes had passed...

Thirty _fucking_ minutes had passed.

Orion's blood was boiling at that point, his finger tapping the wooden table harshly as he waited impatiently. What in the goddamn hell was taking the pesky employee such a long time for a single fucking coffee? Those were what his head was screaming as he did his best to hold himself back from causing a scene at the counter. Not that there'd be anyone to witness it though. In the thirty minutes that had passed, not a single person entered the café. 

'Understandable.' He hissed under his breath, losing every bit of guilt that he had felt before. He slammed his laptop closed, making the blue haired girl that was now standing before him flinch. 

The girl carefully placed the tray on the table as she returned his glares with a sorry smile. On top of the tray was his order, already placed in a paper bag ready for him to take out. "I'm—"

"What the fuck took you so fucking long?" He burst out, glaring at the now, scared girl. Before she could give her piece, he cut her off as he added more gas to the flame. 

"I have been sitting here for thirty minutes, waiting for one coffee I never wanted in the first fucking place—" He stood up from his seat but his mouth didn't stop—"In some shitty café that doesn't even fucking serve tea!" He harshly picked up his laptop and folders, clutching them to his chest. "This is why you don't have any customers." He grabbed the paper bag with his free hand and walked to the door. 

"I hope your business fails." He grumbled under his breath, but the girl's keen ears caught them crystal clear. Orion pushed the glass door open, leaving the café more furious than when he had entered it, completely disappearing. 

The girl's eyes were prickled with tears, every inch of her being doing its best to hold them together the whole time Orion gave her a blow. No matter where you look at it, she was the one at fault here. She gave herself a little pat on the back and walked to the kitchen, the place where no one will see the tears that had been threatening to roll down her eyes.

—————— 

Orion's day was finally over.

Exhausted, he fell back on his office chair after giving out his piece in the meeting. He was essential to the team and his absence had a big impact on them. Thankfully, his secretary had notified the team of his potential tardiness and had the meeting rescheduled immediately. That meant that there was nothing at stake before. The guilt of his actions earlier was now crawling back to him. His head fell back to the chair, his eyes closed tightly as he remembered every word he uttered to the poor girl. 

Why didn't he control himself that time? He sighed to himself. It was understandable that he would burst in no time, considering the terrible way his day had started. He sat himself properly and looked at the paper bag. He realized he hasn't even paid yet. He groaned, his guilt eating him up. 

Orion picked up the bag and opened it. There, he found a safely packed cup of coffee, and, surprisingly, a small paper platter box; His brows furrowed. Curious, he took the cup of coffee out and the box out as well. He opened the lid of the coffee and chuckled to himself when he found black coffee. Of course. Now, his eyes darted to the little paper platter box that was left. 'I never asked for any bread.' He thought to himself. He opened the small box with care, as if something was fragile inside. His clenched hands went to his mouth as he finally saw what was inside of it; a fresh piece of buttered bread with a message on it written using melted chocolate, the steam water dripping down his hands. 

_'Cheer up! :)'_

He buried his face into his palms, growing guiltier than ever. Regret and guilt was all he could feel at that moment. He shouldn't have said those words. He groaned once more and decided that he had to apologize to the girl. 

He chugged down the entire cup of black coffee (to which he liked by the way), and tidied his desk hurriedly. On the clock, it was currently quarter to seven o-clock, some of the cafes on that street close at five. He was silently praying that her café wasn't one of those. Holding his laptop and his favorite folder to himself once again, he went to the café just as how he got there. Stomping. Fast, quick, and hurried. He told himself that even if the store was closed, he was going to return the next day and apologize. He wasn't going to stop until the girl had forgiven him. That was what he told himself. 

However, when he reached the café, sadly, its lights were closed, but something caught the eyes of him. He would've never expected those words that were now slapping him with even more guilt than he ever felt before. 

_'Soft opening'_

It was plastered on the window that was adjacent to the seats in front of him earlier. It all clicked to him. How could he have not noticed? He felt so stupid, dumb, and idiotic. The grip on his things tightened. He had to apologize NOW, but, there was no way for him to do so. All he could do was walk away and wait for the next day to arrive. 

He walked passed the store and back to his house, each step breaming with curses under his breath. He was thinking to himself all the actions he should've done, but he knew that no matter how much he thought of it, he couldn't do anything about it anymore. His feet came into a halt when he thought of a brilliant idea. An idea so good it made him softly grin to himself. He hoped it would work tomorrow. 

After all, it was payback for all the terrible things he had said to the employee and about the café.

—————— 

"What?!"

Orion's co-workers stared at him in shock. "What's the problem?" He raised a brow at the skeptical looks on their faces, acting as if he had just admitted to committing a crime. They turned to meet each other's eyes, motioning for one of them to give a response to him but none made a single move. He massaged the bridge of his nose, his patience running out by the second. He sighed with furrowed brows and raised his shoulders in defeat. "Look, if you don't want coffee you can just—"

"No! No!—" One of them cut him off. They immediately closed their mouth and opened them once again. "I mean, no, Mr. Nam-Kyu. Sir." They let out a small cough. Orion was the leader of their team of course, their boss practically. Known for the blank, grim expression on his face, no one dared to make a mistake around him, afraid of the consequences. Afraid that they had been too informal with the latter, they composed themselves. He noticed this, of course, and shook his head. "It's alright. I'm just offering to treat the team to coffee." 

Smiles slowly crept onto their faces as it sunk in to them. They all nodded at his offer and decided a time to meet at a café. 1pm, at the café where the girl Orion met worked in. Orion couldn't help but smile softly as he set the alarm for that hour, feeling good about today. He was kind of looking forward to it, meeting the girl, making things right, and perhaps giving their café a second chance.

12:59 pm

Pulling up his Jet Black car right in front of the café, Orion went out of the vehicle and found his colleagues grouped together in one seat through the window, leaving one chair for him to sit on. He smiled at the sweet gesture. Before he went inside, his eyes scanned around the store and found a few customers inside. He felt glad. At least, his words didn't come true. His eyes landed on the 'soft opening' plastered on the window once more and bit his lip. He shook his head to shake off the guilt rising up and entered the café. 

His gaze immediately fell to the counter, searching for the certain blue haired girl. However, he only found a different girl, short curly black hair, pale skin and far taller than the other. He frowned as guilt threatened to rush up to him. Could it be that she decided to skip for the day for what happened the previous one? Although his mind had provided numerous logical arguments, his guilt won over them. 

Snapping himself back to reality, he went to their table and took the seat they saved for him. "Have you decided what you wanted to order?" He asked them as his eyes glanced at the counter once again. Still none of her. He shook his head a bit and looked back at his colleagues for their orders. 

"If it's not too much, we've listed them down so you wouldn't have to trouble yourself—sir." One of them said, handing him a sticky note. He nodded and smiled at them. "Even better. I like that thinking." They looked at him stunned at his smile, a smile rare to their eyes as they've always been used to his frightening blank stare. It was contagious, really, finding themselves smiling as well. 

Orion stood up from his seat and made his way to the counter. There, he met the curly haired woman she saw earlier, giving him a small smile. "What can I get you, sir?" She asked. Right as his eyes landed on the sticky note, a door in the far left corner of the café opened, the blue haired girl coming inside. She was tying her apron at the back of her neck, looking determined to start her day. However, her tracks immediately came into a halt when her eyes caught a sight of a familiar black coat. 

Orion's eyes fell to the blue haired girl, his focus all shifting to her. She met his eyes and took a step back, as if afraid of him. This made him feel bad. She walked past the two of them, walking behind the lady he was talking to and making sure her body never faced him. He wanted so badly to talk to her, although she wouldn't even face him. Clearing his throat, he looked back at the lady standing right in front of him, waiting for his orders. He gave her their drinks and proceeded to wait for them in the next counter, constantly glancing at the girl. 

She held her locks up and tied them to pigtails, tying half of the strands up and leaving the other half down. She did this to both sides of her hair before continuing what she was doing. Orion found himself mesmerized with her, finding the way she tied her hair both dumb and adorable. He smiled to himself. His brows furrowed when his view of her was blocked, only to realize that his orders had arrived. Surprised at how fast the orders arrived, his mouth hung agape. He closed them immediately, giving her a respectful smile. A simple 'thank you' was all he could mutter, and took the tray of drinks back to his colleagues' table. 

"Thank you, again, sir!" They beamed at him as they took their beverages from the tray. He gave them another smile and took a sip of his coffee. The same black coffee the girl had given him. His mind was absent from the conversation they were holding on the table that time, mind more focused on the blue haired girl earlier. 

She was afraid of him. She didn't want to see him. She wouldn't even dare face him. 

He sighed deeply, staring at the cup of coffee he ordered. His mind wondered if it was made by the girl. He chuckled dryly, finding that thought both endearing and ironic. He glanced back at his colleagues and found them talking about the girl, immediately catching his attention. He let his eyes wander the café, sipping his coffee as he listened to their conversation.

"I really like the shade of her hair." Yes, he had to admit he found it quite pretty. It matched the roses that decorated the walls of the café. 

"Yeah, me too. I don't really find the pigtails cute though." His brows furrowed, disagreeing. Albeit it looked childish, it fit her well. She was adorable, after all. 

His eyes widened at his thoughts, putting a hand over his mouth as he felt his cheek warming up. He lightly shook his head and quickly finished his cup of coffee to drown out his thoughts. 

He continued listening to their conversation, shifting from the girl to their workplace. After an hour, their cups of coffee were emptied and everyone on the table was just about ready to leave. Standing up from their seats, they darted their eyes to Orion who still was sitting on the table. He saw their expecting looks and shook his head at them, indicating that he was going to stay for a while more. They nodded, gave their last thanks, and proceeded to leave the café. 

The two girls at the counter gave their thanks to the customers as they left and gave each other a proud smile. They seemed so proud at how well the business had been going, and for some reason, Orion was too. He was softly smiling to himself as he watched them. 

He propped himself up properly in his seat and took his phone out. The time was past two o-clock in the afternoon, only three hours left until they closed. Cleaning up his side of the table, Orion had decided that he was going to wait until the store was closing. That way, the girl might feel a little more comfortable talking with him. 

And so, he waited. 

One hour had passed. Orion had opened his laptop and made use of his time wisely. The sun was perfectly hitting the glass panes of the store, illuminating the roses that hung on the windows. Customers would come in and out, and the whole café would grow lively every once in a while. Orion bought bread this time, silently hoping that the girl had written something on it again. However, there was none. All he was given was plain buttered bread. Although the bread was delicious, he couldn't hide his disappointment. 

Two hours had passed. Eyes immediately darting up from the screen, Orion caught a whiff of familiar smell. It was tea. He immediately looked at the counter and caught the black-haired girl brewing some. His brows furrowed. Where was it when he needed it yesterday? Sighing deeply, he shook his head as thoughts of 'what if's' filled his head again. What if the girl had made tea before? Would he have reacted differently? After all, tea would've taken much quicker than coffee. 

Three hours had passed. Feeling nervous, Orion scanned the store and found nothing. The seats were empty, like how it was yesterday. The only difference was the sky, tinted in orange as the sun began to set. He took a deep breath. 

It was time. 

Orion sat up from his seat and approached the counter, both of the girls turning to him as he did. He stood in front of the counter and put both of his hands in his pockets to hide the anxiety he was feeling. He was here to apologize, yet why did he feel so nervous? 

"What can we get you, sir?--Again." The lady asked him as the girl he was hoping to talk to was turning away from them. "I actually wanted to talk to her." He said, glancing at the girl. She stopped and inhaled sharply. He gave a shy smile and the lady raised a brow. The girl turned to the two of them, her hand holding on to the ends of the lady's shirt. Immediately understanding what the girl meant, the lady gasped at him. 

"You!" She pointed at him, her voice coming more of a growl. Orion looked at her with surprise. "You were the one that made her cry!" She glared at him intensely. He wouldn't deny the fearful shudder it sent him. The girl behind her pulled her by the waist, shaking her head in panic. "Cassandra, please! He's a customer!"

"No." She glanced back at the girl. "It wasn't right that he would just burst on you like that!" She snapped back, her eyes darting back to him. 

"If you--"  
"I'm sorry."

The two girls' eyes widened when they found him bowing down to them. Arms to his side, he was bowing deeply. The lady, Cassandra, stared down at him, cocking her brows. "Cassandra, I'll talk to him. I'll be alright, don't worry." The girl said with a reassuring smile. Cassandra looked like she was about to protest but she could only sigh at her. There was no point in arguing with the man if he was there to apologize. She muttered a small 'Fine.' before walking away from the counter, going into the staff room to give them privacy. 

Orion and the girl looked at each other. They stared for a bit, before the other looked down at the counter top nervously. "I--" She inhaled sharply, once more, her voice shaking. She took a laminated plate in her hands and held it tightly. "I'm really really sorry about her, sir. I didn't mean to tell anyone." She spoke hurriedly, speaking as if she was on her last breath. “It’s just she found me crying at the kitchen but I--” She took another deep breath, her face reddening as tears started to form in her eyes. Orion started to panic. She was about to cry! 

“Hey--” He attempted to calm her down but she kept going. “I’m not making you guilty for what happened--sir. I know it was my fault and I--” She let out a small gasp as she felt an arm grab her hands which were apparently crumpling the laminated plate. “Tiffany, stop!” Orion said in a little panicked yell. Her eyes shot up to his, her tears rolling down her face. They were both shocked. He stared at her, his eyes concerned for her. She stared at him, confused. “How did you…”

“Your nameplate.” He answered, letting go of her hands, wiping her tears with his free ones. “Calm down, Tiff.” He said gently, giving her a soft smile. The girl, Tiffany, nodded, taking deep breaths to steady herself. “I’m not mad at you, don’t worry.” He said, in an attempt to help her calm down. “Frankly, I’m mad at myself. I really didn’t mean what I said yesterday.” He was now the one looking down at the counter top, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. 

She shook her head at him and was about to protest, however, Orion raised a hand to continue speaking. She nodded and listened to him. “I should’ve controlled myself, you know? What I did was wrong and I deeply regret everything.

“I’m sorry, Tiffany.”

His eyes finally had the courage to look back at her eyes, her eyes now brimming with happiness. He couldn’t help but smile inwardly, seeing her happy somehow made him feel so much better. 

“I forgive you, Mister…?” She trailed off, her head tilting as she waited for him to continue her sentence. “Orion. Orion Nam-Kyu.” He beamed. She returned his wide smile and nodded. “You are forgiven, Mr. Nam-Kyu.” She giggled. “Thank you. You can just call me Orion.” He replied with a chuckle. 

With a grin, she said, “Well, I hope I see you more, Ori.” He couldn’t explain it, but something about her calling him with an unfamiliar nickname made him feel like there were butterflies in his stomach. “I’ll definitely visit more.” He grinned as well, unknowing that his cheeks were growing red the longer he stared at her. 

“I’ll have some tea ready for you next time.” She joked. “No, no. I’m not really forward to that anymore. I want more of your black coffee, please.” He replied genuinely. It was her turn to blush, her eyes immediately darting down to the crumpled laminated plate as she felt giddy with his reply. 

She glanced back at him, He was staring sweetly at her. They both giggled, both looking forward to the next time they meet again.

—————— 

Orion had always been a tea person. He preferred the calming, soothing smell of tea, brewed simply and efficiently for the little time he has. However, in one little incident when everything seemed to have been going against him, coffee was the one that fixed it all. It wasn’t the drink, exactly, but the person who brewed it. Perhaps, with his new found friendship, he could become a coffee person, treasuring his time but never feeling like it was ever wasted. 

**Author's Note:**

> Orion belongs to @alphasehntohwrhye on IG!  
> Tiffany belongs to me!  
> Cassandra belongs to Disney's Tangled. 
> 
> Me and my friend joked that she made a cameo in this little fanfiction of mine but I'm too shy to put her in the tags LMAO.


End file.
